Sunday, November 29, 2015

Understanding the Donald Trump phenomenon

I am far from being a fan of Donald Trump and still believe the chances of him becoming the next President of the United States are slim to none. However, there is no doubt Trump has changed the entire dynamic of the 2016 presidential election.

The Trump phenomenon is simple to understand: people are fed up with lying professional politicians who won't address the problems that are taking this great nation down the tubes. I don't know Trump knows himself what he would do but he is not shy to fight for what he believes once he makes up his mind and I sense people want a fighter, not one who hedges all his or her bets and wants to please everyone.

Well, he certainly has more credibility than most of the professional politicians running. How can they be believed when they have been part of the problem for so long. At least Trump promises a new fresh approach.

Conservative Republicans have seen what has happened to the Tea Party movement as it was sabotaged by the IRS selectively targeting patriotic and conservative organizations by intrusive audits, harassment and plain persecution. In 2010 Tea Parties brought an energy and focus to the conservative wing of the Republican Party that was truly remarkable and this alarmed its leadership. The movement was too independent and didn’t need financing or direction. They had ideas of their own.

The Tea Parties were not so much an ideological movement as they were a reaction to the corrupt internationalist Republican core. While the IRS harassment was urged on by anti-rightist "watchdog" sympathizers and liberal Democratic Senators, the Republican establishment was not unhappy, even though they paid for it in 2012 when they lost close races they should have won.

Donald Trump's support represents values still held deeply by many conservative Republicans outraged by its RINO inner elite.

Trump is just saying the truth in a way that the people understand. Politicians never even speak substance, just mention nouns but don't give them any content--they are afraid it would turn off one or another voter. Trump calls them as he sees them. The people may not agree but like that someone is finally telling them something real.

The phenomenon we see with Trump is the same that put Fox News on top: they filled a gap, maybe not as stridently as Trump, although some would say just as much, but still they filled a gap.

When asked about who they trust, people score politicians the lowest. Trump is tapping into that, with the double advantage that by doing it not only do people listen but he gets a lot of free publicity from the very media that he knocks.

Take immigration. Every politician on all sides of the isle just beats around the bush with no one addressing the issues the people see. Trump does.

Trump created outrage when he said illegals coming across the border are a crime wave. I started following it then. Three things have happened since that I can report:

1. A vibrant young lady was murdered in San Fransisco by an illegal with a bunch of felonies and deportations.

2. A retired homicide detective in California told me 42% of crimes charged in the state today have illegals as defendants.

3) Last week a Hayward, California police sergeant with nice family pulled over a 21-year old kid and was shot in the face with a 9mm. The turnout for his funeral, to support his teenage family was so big they used the Oracle Arena.

Now here's the thing about #3: go read the San Jose Mercury News or the San Francisco Chronicle and you'll think the guy they've arrested was just some kid. No, he and his family are illegals from Mexico but they will not report it.

Trump was right!

We the People are tired of the hypocrisy and tired old ways of professional politicians and welcome a new face who calls them as he sees them. Maybe he is a bit rough around the edges but often that's the way the truth sounds. Politicians by contrast are so worried about whose toes they may step on that they never say or do anything meaningful.

Even if he doesn't get elected he should have the salutary effect of letting other candidates know that We the People are fed up with being spoon fed nouns without content. We want real answers to what we see is going on in the country. Trump provides them while professional politicians run away from them. Enough. Let's address the problems we have without more bs.

It's interesting that there has been such a huge Republican Establishment boom for Mitt Romney in 2012 and Carly Fiorina today, whose business accomplishments are nil in comparison to what Trump has accomplished.

Trump does have a big mouth with a thin filter between thoughts that pop into his brain and words that come out of his mouth.

But, if we want a person who understands business in the White House, why would Trump NOT be our first choice? We especially glorify entrepreneurs. Is Trump NOT the Kingpin of entrepreneurs? He doesn't talk like he owes any loyalty to anybody but himself. Is THAT the problem? Or do we really want another Republican tool of big business, or a Dem tool of Big Labor and Big Government in the White House?

We seem to be picking on Trump because he has the big mouth of a self-made man. Do we not want to cut him some slack on BEING a self-made man of fantastic accomplishments in business?

My favorite part of "The Apprentice" was the board room. Trump was always fair in assessing the contestants, questioning them, and ultimately figuring out (correctly) why a candidate moved forward....or was "fired". He expressed empathy when needed; accolades when earned. I always felt he made the right decisions because he backed them up with facts...whatever they were; pleasant or unpleasant. I do think most of the contestants admired him. He did allow them the time and effort to defend themselves when the time came. It was fun.

Granted Trump can be harsh, rude, and sometimes appears in love with himself. But he has earned his way to the top in the business world, raised ambitious and successful children, and is generous with his money in both overt and covert ways.

Trump gets things done; no matter what it takes. He's not perfect, but he loves this country

The Nation better take Trump seriously...especially the Republicans. He is speaking the language that many of us want to hear but don't from the political machine...on either side.

He's rough, he's gritty, he's not PC, he doesn't mince words, he calls it how it is rather than how it should be or "probably" is, he doesn't give a rat's ass about the media or what they think of him. In other words, he's real and all of the other candidates are posers. They have too much to lose, he doesn't. That's why he can talk truthfully about this country's major issues. And he's right about most of it...but not all of it.

Should he be taken seriously? Oh yes. If you are a Democrat or a Republican, be very afraid. This man is a loose canon with the right talk and the right walk with the right weapons. Take heed politicians, this man is going to shake you to your core.

Under estimate him at your own peril. Could he win? I can think of another man in a similar situation that did.

Trump won't enter as an independent if he doesn't get the nomination. He may try to broker a deal of some sort, but despite his ego, he's not stupid. Unlike Ross Perot who had a personal antagonism for Bush Sr, Trump is not going to put another Democrat in the White House if he truly believes what he says about getting the country up and running again.

At this stage of the game, like Hillary's scripted performances, answering NOTHING, there is no reason for Trump to show his cards. He'll keep everyone guessing until that game plays itself out.

If anything, I believe if he continues to carry a sizable following as the Republican convention approaches, he will engage is some backroom dealing, maybe even a VP nod.